Grade 11 Physics · The speed of sound
331.3, plus a little for warmth
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331.3, plus a little for warmth

Sound has no fixed speed — it borrows one from the air. In dry air the rule is v=331.3+0.606Tv = 331.3 + 0.606\,T with TT in °C: 331.3 m/s on a freezing day, and about six-tenths of a metre per second more for every degree above. Room temperature lands near 343 m/s. Warmer molecules pass the message faster — that is the whole story.

Then the classic exam wound: the echo. A shout that bounces off a cliff crosses the gap TWICE — out and back — so the wall stands at d=vt2d = \dfrac{v\,t}{2}, never vtv\,t. Thunder is the opposite trap: the lightning's flash arrives essentially instantly, the rumble makes the trip once, and no ÷2 is invited. Read the journey before you divide.